Meister Eckhart: A Mystic-Warrior for Our Times

by Matthew Fox

Overview

Though he lived in the thirteenth century, Meister Eckhart’s deeply ecumenical teachings were in many ways modern. He taught about what we call ecology, championed artistic creativity, and advocated for social, economic, and gender justice. All these elements have inspired spiritual maverick Matthew Fox and influenced his Creation Spirituality. Here, Fox creates metaphorical meetings between Eckhart and Teilhard de Chardin, Thich Nhat Hanh, Carl Jung, Black Elk, Rumi, Adrienne Rich, and other radical thinkers. The result is profoundly insightful, substantive, and inspiring.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608682652
Publisher:	New World Library
Publication date:	07/08/2014
Pages:	336
Sales rank:	370,969
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

The author of thirty books, Matthew Fox has been an instrumental teacher and scholar in the revival of Western mysticism, particularly the work of Hildegard of Bingen, Meister Eckhart, and Thomas Aquinas. Fox teaches and speaks widely and lives in Oakland, California.

Table of Contents

Introduction

1. The God of Awe, Wonder, and Radical Amazement: Meister Eckhart Meets Rabbi Heschel

2. The Christ of the Earth and Cosmos: Meister Eckhart Meets Teilhard de Chardin and Thomas Berry

3. The Apophatic Divinity: Meister Eckhart meets Buddhism via Thich Nhat Hahn and the Dalai Lama

4.The Divine Feminine: Meister Eckhart Meets Adrienne Rich

5. Liberated and Liberating Sisters: Meister Eckhart Meets Dorothee Soelle, the Beguines Mechtild of Magdeburg and Marguerite Porret, and Julian of Norwich

6. The Historical Jesus: Meister Eckhart Meets Marcus Borg, Bruce Chilton and John Dominic Crossan

7. Depth Psychology: Meister Eckhart Meets Carl Jung

8. Creativity as Psychotherapy: Meister Eckhart Meets Otto Rank

9. Wisdom of Hinduism: Meister Eckhart Meets the Upanishads and the Vedas via Ananda Coomaraswamy and Father Bede Griffiths

10. Eckhart as Sufi: Meister Eckhart Meets Rumi, Hafiz and Ibn Arabi

11. Indigenous Wisdom and Shamanism: Meister Eckhart Meets the Dreamtime, Black Elk, Mircea Eliade, Bill Everson and Robinson Jeffers

12. Warriors for Economic Justice: Meister Eckhart Meets David Korten and Anita Roddick

13. Warriors for a Deeper Education: Meister Eckhart Meets M.C. Richards, Yellawe, Lily Yeh and Theodore Richards

Conclusion: Where Might Eckhart Take Us?

Editorial Reviews

06/09/2014
In his third book on Eckhart, Fox (The Hidden Spirituality of Men) sets out to explore the 13th-century Christian mystic’s ideas of spirituality as a path to action. Subject and author share a mutual history of radicalism and conflicts with orthodoxy. Fox, who was formerly a Dominican friar and is now an Episcopal priest, presents a continuity of ideas rather than a direct line of influence. Each chapter is structured around a spiritual or secular thinker whose words and focus parallel Eckhart’s. Excerpts and commentaries on his work are placed alongside those of Karl Marx, Adrienne Rich, Carl Jung, Rumi, Rabbi Abraham Heschel, and others. These juxtapositions explore contemporary concerns, such as gender inequality and environmentalism. By connecting Eckhart’s wisdom to the problems of today, Fox creates a sense of optimistic urgency; solutions do not wait in the future or lie in the past, but are present right now if people choose to act with compassion and conviction. The book is not only an excellent introduction to Eckhart’s theology, but also as an inspirational guidepost for connecting faith with activism. (July)

Publishers Weekly

By connecting Eckhart’s wisdom to the problems of today, Fox creates a sense of optimistic urgency; solutions do not wait in the future or lie in the past, but are present right now if people choose to act with compassion and conviction. The book is not only an excellent introduction to Eckhart’s theology, but also an inspirational guidepost for connecting faith with activism.”
— Publishers Weekly

“In this book Matthew Fox, one of the gigantic Christians of this century, engages and presents Meister Eckhart, one of the gigantic Christians of the ages, in dialogue with some of today’s best minds. The result is a stunning new vision of Christianity that transcends both creeds and boundaries. It is a thrilling read.”
— John Shelby Spong, author of The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic

“Matthew Fox is perhaps the greatest writer on Meister Eckhart that has ever existed. No one paints as broad a portrait of the master as Fox does in this book.”
— Steven Herrmann, author of Spiritual Democracy

“I can’t imagine a richer, juicier, or more relevant introduction to the grandeur and brilliance of Meister Eckhart’s vision. Matthew Fox has given us yet another radioactive, stunning work. Every chapter is a pure, clear, and swift revelation.”
— Andrew Harvey, author of The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism

“[Fox] not only gives us his beloved spiritual father as a living presence for our lives but also brings us a whole rainbow of mystic-warriors as companions on the way.”
— Joanna Macy, coauthor of Active Hope

“Whether our species has a future on Earth does not depend on the development of more gee-whiz technologies, but on whether we are willing to move into the psycho-spiritual dimension proclaimed by Meister Eckhart and elucidated by Matthew Fox in this important book.”
— Larry Dossey, MD, author of One Mind

“Crucial! Fox brings Eckhart’s voice into cogent meeting with a long list of pivotal global luminaries. Marrying these confluences may well determine the success or failure of our planet’s inevitable process toward globalization and multiculturalism.”
— Kurt Johnson, coauthor of The Coming Interspiritual Age

“The special uniqueness of this book lies in Matthew Fox’s ability to put a host of ancient and contemporary thinkers and social activists in close mutual relationship with Meister Eckhart. . . . With this book, Matthew Fox gives us an intimation that hope in the future is not some idle passing thought. That it is even possible to have written this book is a reminder that such spiritual searching and the worldwide diversity that accompanies it is more prevalent than one would think.”
— Fred Gustafson, Literary Aficionado

From the Publisher